Dog Can't Contain Excitement Over Hearing Dad's Home—But There's a Twist

Newsweek

22-05-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Internet users can't get enough of a dog's delighted reaction when she realized her owner was home, but as it turns out, he'd been there all along.
There's nothing quite like a dog's excitable reaction when you walk through the door and the overload of affection they like to provide. But dog owner Bobby from Maryland doesn't even need to leave his home to generate that kind of reaction from his Annabelle the American Bully.
Indeed, his wife, Danni Keane, captured the moment she told Annabelle that "daddy's home," just to see the sheer excitement. Annabelle quickly ran over and lavished Bobby with plenty of fuss—despite the fact that he hadn't been anywhere.
Keane loves seeing the joy in Annabelle's face when she thinks her dad has just got back, telling Newsweek that it makes her "heart happy."
Annabelle's adorable welcome home party consisted of endless slobbery kisses, tail wags, and climbing all over Bobby.
Annabelle smothering her owner Bobby with kisses when she thought he'd just returned home.
Annabelle smothering her owner Bobby with kisses when she thought he'd just returned home.
@annabelle_and_norman / TikTok
"I think it's cute how excited she gets when he's home," Keane said. "It's also a good way to distract her from barking. She had been standing at the fence barking at her squirrel friends in the tree, so in order to get her to take a break, I decided to tell her daddy's home, thinking she would run over to him and leave the squirrels alone."
Annabelle stayed on the garden couch with her dad for several minutes before getting distracted by another squirrel in the tree.
In that sense, she's a complete opposite to her littermate Norman.
"Norman is a momma's boy, and Annabelle is a daddy's girl. Norman is very laid back and he likes to sleep and eat. Annabelle is an energizer bunny who never stops. She's always on alert, waiting for something to bark at," Keane said.
She continued: "Norman bonded with me and Annabelle bonded with my husband when they were just a few weeks old. Norman still needs his daddy time though and will whine when he needs his love. Annabelle needs me when she's overtired."
After capturing Annabelle's hilarious reaction to "her favorite words," Keane shared the clip on TikTok (@annabelle_and_norman). Needless to say, social media users can't cope with her excitement, and the video has gone viral with over 1.7 million views and 314,800 likes at the time of writing.
The online response has been overwhelming, as many lauded Annabelle's undeniable joy, while some dog owners could relate to the love bombing. Annabelle will react this way without fail if her dad is home, regardless of how long it's been since she last gave him kisses.
However, if he's gone out, it's a very different story.
Keane told Newsweek: "If he isn't home yet, she will whine and go from the window to the door looking for him. She gets upset if she can't find him or if he takes too long coming inside the house."
In the days since the video went viral, it has already gained more than 700 comments on TikTok.
One comment reads: "I didn't know he left, how embarrassing, welcome home!"
Another TikTok user wrote: "She is like omg I haven't seen you all day."
Another person added: "Well to be fair, she hadn't seen him in a solid 30 seconds..."
While one commenter joked: "Why do they only come in too smart for their own good, and head empty?"
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